I was sitting in the lobby of our local car repair place the other day, thinking gloomy thoughts. I know, I know; you usually think of yours truly as a handsome, happy-go-lucky, always cheerful fellow with a big hat and a bigger heart. [Note from the Proprietor: If you happen to think differently, please don’t disillusion me! Oh, and Mrs. MZM had me throw in the “handsome” part. Honest.]

Anyhoo – to those of you who have never opened up the hood of a car – I salute you! I’ll tell ya, I’d just as soon never have to do it myself. To be perfectly honest, what’s under there… well, it sorta scares me.

Oh, I know; that admission may jeopardize my lifetime membership to the Manly Men’s Association if it ever gets out. But I’ll freely admit that when it comes to cars I’m pretty much clueless.

It wasn’t always this way. Once upon a time (sounds like the beginning of a fairy tale, doesn’t it?) I was completely unafraid to tinker with my own car. Alas, those days are quickly receding like my, er, hairline (*sigh*). These days, when I open the hood I get absolutely intimidated by the incomprehensible mishmash of hardware, gizmos and spaghetti-like wiring that greets the eye. And all of it covered by a thick greasy layer of gray-black grime that would give even the redoubtable Mr. Clean heart palpitations. Ick.

Nevertheless, the sad, inevitable truth is, if you own a car, then sooner or later, you’re gonna have to fix something. This time it wasn’t anything major, just the battery. The old one wasn’t puttin’ out the power it used to, and it was only a matter of time before we got in the car, turned the key, and got – nuthin’. (Trust me, I’ve been there and there’s no experience quite like it.)

Needless to say, once the new battery was installed, our car was good as new again. (Well, as good as an 11-year old car can be. I’m a firm believer in driving a car until she drops.) But I realized that getting a tired battery isn’t just something that happens to cars. Nope; it happens to people, too.

Time for Something New?

Yep; it’s not all that unusual for us to experience something similar. Given enough time, you’ll probably experience a time when it seems as though you just don’t have all the emotional energy you need to face life as usual. I know I have. Sometimes the constant battle with getting things done can take such a toll that there comes a moment when you might suddenly look up and think, “Enough!”

Hey, don’t feel like the Lone Stranger, my friends; it happens to a lot of us. So what to do? Well, here’s three ideas I’ve tried in the past.

Take a Break. These days the pace of life seems to be getting faster and faster with no end in sight. It’s so easy to ignore the need for rest now and then. There’s nothing wrong with taking some time off, you know. I mean, the universe isn’t going to come to a screeching halt without you, you know. Hey, here’s a radical idea: try not working every day and taking at least one day a week off. (God Himself prescribed exactly that when He created Life, the Universe, and Everything, so just on that basis alone it ought to be something worth taking seriously, don’cha think?) But you’ll find, as I have, that regular periods of rest can actually make you more productive than if you never took the time.

Switch Tracks for a While. Sometimes when you find yourself completely overwhelmed with whatever’s, uh, whelming you, the best thing you can do is what I call “change the game”. I mean, take a little time to do a totally different task for a while. What happens, see, is you get so caught up in whatever it is you’re doing your mind begins to narrow its focus until that’s all you can see. It’s sorta like running a 400-yard dash. Because of your focus, the only thing you see is the lane you’re in and the finish line; everything else becomes a gray blur. Doing something different, though, will help your brain regain its normal equilibrium and even enable you to think more clearly.

Do Something Different. Maybe, in the immortal words of the Monty Python gang, it’s time for something completely different. And I’m not talkin’ about just for a short while. Nope, I mean maybe your life would be a lot more fulfilling if you were doing something, y’know, else. It’s happened to quite a few folks over the years, including yours truly: starting out in life going in one direction, only to find it just doesn’t satisfy them like they thought it would. The fact is, more and more folks do it all the time. And, there’s no need to feel like you’re doing something no one has ever done before, either, so at least you’ll have plenty of company.

OK, those are just three ideas. What about you? What else would you suggest for someone whose battery has been running dangerously low? Share your advice down there in the comment box and maybe you’ll be helping someone else who’s facing the same challenge right now.

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I was driving in our neighborhood the other day when I passed this poor excuse for a tree in a nearby empty lot.

Over the last three years, I’ve seen this thing gradually reduced from a somewhat taller and more, er, robust version of itself – to this. Pretty pathetic, ain’t it?

Every time we get a strong wind, I’m convinced I’ll drive by and see it has given up the ghost and finally assumed the horizontal position. When Hurricane Ike bulldozed through Houston over a year ago, I really thought that would be the final blow, so to speak. Yet every time I’m surprised to find it holding on just a little bit longer.

Oh, sure, it might be a little smaller, perhaps a little, er, less vigorous than is used to be (which may be considered the understatement of the century), but this amazing tree has managed to persevere no matter what’s been thrown at it. But no – this fellah is still hangin’ in there.

But more than that – it’s still growing! You can see a small clump of leaves there on what remains of the only branch left. What’s more, there’s even a few new saplings growing upward from the base of the trunk, too.

I’ll tell ya what, folks, if there ain’t a powerful lesson here, I’ll… well, I’ll eat my hat!

So I guess the million-dollar questions you have to ask yourself today are: What’s been knockin’ ya down, lately? And, what’s your response gonna be?

Next time you’re tempted to give up, just remember this tree. (And yes, I’m talkin’ to me, too.)

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Ever had the feeling you were bein’ followed? It’s kinda spooky, ain’t it?

Not too long ago, Mrs. MZM and I decided to get out and enjoy the unusually pleasant Fall weather. (I use the word “unusual” because here in the Houston area, we typically have only two seasons: eleven sultry months of Summer followed by a month or so of cold, wet, yucky Winter.)

This particular day, though, was bright and clear, perhaps mid-80’s or so, with a nice, gentle breeze. It was perfect for taking time off to smell the flowers, if you get my meanin’. So we decided to go to a nearby park and see what there was to see.

This particular park happened to be built along a canal that wandered along for about a mile or so. After a few minutes, we decided to follow the sidewalk along the water. I’m tellin’ ya; it was a beautiful day, I had my Honey on my arm, and there was nowhere else I had to be. I mean, how perfect was that?

As we strolled along the waterway, enjoying the gentle warm sunshine, the delicious smell of pine trees, and the silly antics of an occasional duck or goose, I happened to glance down at the water at my feet. It was a surprising sight, to say the least: dozens of these tiny little fish were following us!

It seemed pretty funny, you know? I mean, it’s not like it was a school of piranha or anything. They’re just little fish, lookin’ for a handout. I imagine a fair percentage of folks who walk along this canal toss breadcrumbs or whatever into the water on a regular basis. So to them, any motion along the edges of their long, watery world spelled opportunity.

Unfortunately for them, though, we had nothing to give, so we just walked on. I’ll tell’ ya; I gotta give those little guys credit for persistence! They must’ve followed us for at least twenty minutes before finally giving up and heading for greener, uh, waters.

It reminded me, though, of the fact that while there’s opportunity all around us, sometimes it takes persistence to reap the benefits, y’know? (Not that it paid off for them that day, mind you, but they at least went with the odds.) So let’s take a lesson from my fine fishy friends (and I’m speakin’ to myself as well):

Keep on pluggin’ away, ‘cause persistence can make all the difference!

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Is it true that to do something well – you have to like what you’re doing? I’m honestly not sure if that’s necessarily a maxim or not. I mean, I’m pretty good at some things I don’t particularly like to do. And there’s lots of things I, well, stink at that I love to do. But then, that’s the way the cookie crumbles, y’know?

But you gotta agree that having a great deal of enthusiasm for a task, whatever it happens to be, certainly lends a little je ne sais quoi to the endeavor, won’t you? (je ne sais quoi, for those of you who don’t know, is French for “the zest for life”. Or maybe it just means, “pass the French toast.”)

Summer as a Camp Counselor

Quite a few summers ago, I was one of several counselors (meaning, “the adults”) at a children’s camp up in the deep woods of East Texas. Each of us counselors were assigned to a cabin with an assistant counselor (usually an older teen-ager) and about 12-15 boys in the seven- to twelve-year old range. (Yep; you read it right. I was only 27 at the time, but I’m almost positive that’s where I got my first grey hair.)

Anyhoo, for seven weeks straight, a new group of kids would show up every Sunday afternoon, stay a week, and then leave the following Saturday. I’ll tell ya; after seven weeks of this, I was about ready for the funny farm! (Who knows? Maybe this is what pushed me over the edge and into the Middle Zone in the first place?)

Now, if you’ve never had the *ahem* joy of this sort of experience, then all I gotta say is, Bubba, you ain’t lived! Nevertheless, to this day I still fondly reminisce about many of the wonderful – and sometimes zany – things we did. (Or, er, accidentally caused to happen. But let’s not go there; it wasn’t me, honest!)

Not that I didn’t have a blast, mind you; I did. But the thing is, it was my first time as a counselor and I truly didn’t have a clue! Luckily they assigned me an assistant counselor who had lots of experience, so for the first week or two he managed to keep things on an even keel (without looking like he was the one in, y’know, actual control). But I learned pretty quickly, and before too long I really did know what I was doin’. (That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it!)

The Weight of Responsibility

On the other hand, bein’ a counselor wasn’t all fun and games; it had its responsibilities. I mean, we, along with a few other folks, were the sole caretakers – out in the middle of a jungle filled with lions, tigers and bears – for about 250 kids, every week. (Well, OK; it was woods, not jungle, and they were armadillos, squirrels, and blue jays – but you get my meanin’, right?) If you think about it, that was quite the weighty undertaking. Oh, we had plenty of fun, no doubt about that; but there was the serious side to things.

For instance, one thing we always tried to do was find a way to encourage each and every kid. Maybe they were good at archery, or a good trail reader, or even a great swimmer. No matter what it was, we made sure every one of ‘em had an award certificate for something in his or her hot little hand before they left on Saturday. We always found something to praise them for.

Then there were what you might consider the “usual” awards: those who were best at stuff, like riflery (don’t panic; we used BB guns), diving, or even the most sportsmanlike qualities. And Bubba, picking out the best boy AND girl for each one of those categories wasn’t always easy! (Especially when there were about 125 of each, and we had to narrow it down to just one of each.) Sometimes, it was almost impossible.

I remember this one time the boys’ counselors spent about 20 minutes trying to figure out who should get the “trophy” for Best Trampoline. (Well, it wasn’t a trophy, exactly. More like a picture of a trophy on a certificate. But still.) Amazingly enough, there really hadn’t been an outstandingly good one among the boys that particular week. But we wanted to do something; the kids would notice if we didn’t choose someone. The conversation went something like this:

“What about Frank?” someone would ask.

“Naw, he’s not any good, really; he can barely stay on the thing.”

“All right then, I thought Barry was fair to middlin’,” another said.

“Hey, wasn’t he the kid that tried to catch that butterfly and jumped clean off and accidentally knocked over all the canoes? Jenny screamed bloody murder when one of ‘em landed on her toe! I don’t think we want to reward that.” Reluctant nods of agreement all around.

And so it went.

The Standout

Finally, I had a thought (try not to be too surprised; it happens, y’know). There was one young fellow in my cabin who did kinda stand out. Not that he was all that good on the trampoline, mind you; but there was this one thing about him – I’d never seen anybody have more fun doing it! I’m tellin’ ya; although he was havin’ a lot of fun at camp, he probably laughed the loudest and hardest when he was on the trampoline. His laughter and smile literally lit the place up whenever it was his turn – and what’s more, he somehow set all the other kids watching him to laughing, too!

Now, this kid had been one I’d been a little concerned about. See, he was only 7 years old (pretty much the smallest kid in camp that week), and as a result, he wasn’t too good at, well, anything. He was too small to hold a rifle or pull a bow; he was also too small to run very fast, and he couldn’t swim worth a darn – well, you get the picture, right?

But I’ll tell ya; he sure loved to jump! Not well, mind you; but again, he did it with more gusto and enthusiasm than anybody we’d seen all summer. Heads nodded all around and smiles broke out as we agreed this was just the thing to give him the encouragement we’d all wanted to give.

Yessir; I’ll never forget that kid’s face (although sadly, I’ve forgotten his name) when we called him up front to accept the “Most Enthusiastic Trampoline Jumper” award that Saturday – in front of the entire camp, and most of the parents, too. I bet that kid grinned the entire way home! And best of all, the entire group of campers knew it, too – they all clapped enthusiastically when he got it; it was that obvious he deserved it.

Time to Take Out the Trash

So what does this have to do with you and me, you ask? Well, even today, whenever I think of the smile on that kid’s face as he happily received his award, I can’t help get an answering smile inside. That, more than any other experience, was probably one of the brightest moments of my summer that year. And even now I still remember the valuable lesson he taught me: That whatever I do, I should do it with enthusiasm.

OK, so that’s not always so easy. So what? Attitude, as every Life Coach will tell you, is at least 95% a choice. I mean, we can’t always determine the tasks we have to do each day, can we? Hey, I’ll bet Superman or Spiderman or Wonder Woman still had to take out the garbage and wash the car every now and then, y’know? (Well, in Wonder Woman’s case, it was probably her invisible jet plane.)

But we can still choose how we feel about those things, can’t we?

Besides, after practicing how to be cheerful, even with the mundane things in life, imagine how much joy we’ll experience doing the really fun things? Like that kid jumping with such pure joy on the trampoline, we’ll have a blast doing it – and who knows? Maybe we’ll even inspire others with our enthusiasm too.

I mean, you never know.

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Wandering around Discovery Green Park in downtown Houston one morning a few weeks ago, I was not surprised to find every single park bench had a dedication of some kind. You know what I mean, right? Along the lines of, “In memory of…”, or something similar.

Hey, it’s a time-honored way of remembering those who’ve come before us, and perhaps may no longer be with us. I often wonder what stories are contained within those few brief words.

However, as I was about to leave the park, I ran across this one, in which a slightly different sentiment is expressed: MAKE EVERY MOMENT COUNT.

I’m tellin’ ya; have no idea who the Reckling family is (all 46 of ‘em; yeesh, can you imagine the run on the bathroom in the mornings?), but I’ll tell ya; I am now a big fan!

Yessir, now that’s a sentiment that gets the ol’ ticker turnin’ over, ain’t it? I gotta say, as a kick-start to the day, it was a heckuva great one!

So allow me to pass it on to y’all today – along with a big ol’ tip o’ the hat!

MAKE EVERY MOMENT COUNT

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I was in the doctor’s office for my annual 100,000-mile checkup not too long ago. Prognosis: pretty good, actually. I’m generally healthy, and everything still seems to be tickin’ along nicely.

Over by the wall stood this typical doctor’s scale. You’ve most likely seen ‘em, haven’t you? You stand on that plate at the bottom (wearing as little as possible so the danged thing doesn’t mistake that giant Rodeo buckle and ten-gallon hat for excess flab) and then you slide the little weights back and forth on the bars until it balances. Then you read the numbers inside the holes in the weights.

If you look closely in the photo, this one reads 195 pounds. The thing is, that’s not my actual weight. Alas, my current, um, gravitational quotient is a mite higher than that. (But for now let’s keep the actual number my little secret, ‘K?)

The Target

No, what this things shows is my target. See, for the last several months I’ve been on a (sound of terrified scream) diet. My goal is to get back to the weight I believe to be optimum for me – 195. Unfortunately, a few too many cookies, a little too much ice cream… well, let’s just say I’ve not been living the best lifestyle when it comes to food, y’know?

Anyway, Mrs. MZM and I mutually made the decision (hey, it’s true – although I believe the words, “or else” were in there somewhere) to get healthier. Yep; we started doing all the right things: watch what we eat, make sensible choices, exercise regularly – you know, all the things we know to do already, but somehow, well, don’t.

Generally speaking, it hasn’t been as hard as I thought it would be (although I must admit; I do miss pie!) In fact, I’m kinda lookin’ forward to the day I hit my “fightin’ weight” and regain my girlish figure. And to help me along, I keep that target weight in mind now, even when I have nothing but poor choices in front of me. That target colors everything I think about when it comes to food.

The bottom line is, I know the goal, and even better – I know how to reach it.

And that’s good, y’know? It means the ol’ little gray cells are finally cooperatin’, and it’s about time, too! Nowadays, it’s a heck of a lot easier to choose something grilled instead of fried, or something healthy instead of just sweet. All because of that target.

The Target is the Goal

Have you got a goal? How do you visualize it? Did you know a clear visualization can be and extremely powerful agent in change? I bet you did. Sooner or later, everyone comes to the realization that you can’t get anywhere without knowin’ where you’re goin’.

So what’s your goal? How do you visualize it (or them)? Some folks use vision boards, some write out a plan, some share it with others who can help them stay on the right track. What’s your best method of imagining a goal? Share with us what works for you, won’t you?

Maybe by sharing, you can help someone else who’s struggling – and wouldn’t that be great accomplishment!

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There’s an old sayin’ that goes something like this: Great things come to those who wait. (Come to think of it, isn’t that the tagline from a ketchup commercial?)

Well, take it from me, it’s an old saying, ‘K? But as sayings go, isn’t there something missing? I mean, if all it took to receive great things was to wait, I’d be a rich and famous zillionaire several times over by now, y’know?

Obviously something’s missing.

Personally, I think the missing element to that particular sayin’ is, well, the challenge of workin’ for that great thing, don’cha think? I mean, sure having something nice fall unexpectedly in your lap is a favorite daydream for pretty much all of us, right? But how often does that happen? Not much, Bubba!

No, the most common, and likely more appreciated “great” things we receive these days are things we earn. Things we work for. They’re our just rewards for hard work or effort of something we had to do, y’know? And they’re not unexpected; no, not at all! They’re the prize for a job well done.

Cape Lookout, Oregon

A while back while living up in Oregon, Mrs. MZM and I took a weekend off to sorta tour the scenery along the coastline. I’ll tell ya; that is some beautiful country! I wouldn’t mind too much living in those parts permanently; in my humble opinion it’s got some of the finest coastline in the entire U.S., bar none.

Anyway, we were moseyin’ along in sightseein’ mode, toolin’ north along Hiway 101, when we noticed a sign pointing to something called Cape Lookout. Now it seems to me, one really fine way to catch a terrific scenic view of a coastline is to view it from a cape. So, we turned west on what was named, appropriately enough, Cape Lookout Road and prepared to be amazed.

Well, the road went up, then it went down. Then it twisted, then it turned, then it pretty much did the hokey-pokey and turned us all around! I’m tellin’ ya, I had NO idea which way we were goin’! (I had visions of rescue parties searching vainly for our vehicle… once someone realized we were lost, of course.) Eventually, though, we ended up at the top of a hill, and off to the side was the Cape Lookout parking area. Somehow we made it!

To our surprise, though, there was absolutely no view whatsoever. According to the sign, you had to *ahem* hike out to the point for the rumored view. (Up until now I’d heard of “hiking”, but have never actually seen it. Must be something those native Oregonians do…) Needless to say, we were a mite taken aback; talk about your bait-and-switch! It seemed kinda cruel to promise a spectacular view, then make you work for it, y’know? And worse, it looked like the trail led into a rather dense forest. What about the lions, tigers and bears (we said)? Oh, my!

Still, the promise of glorious sights… Anyway, we decided to throw caution to the winds and give it a shot. So we headed off into the deep, dark woods, keepin’ our eyes peeled for the aforementioned critters. Luckily, the trail appeared to be quite well travelled, so it was easy to follow. No breadcrumbs necessary at all.

I have to admit, once we got into it, the walk turned almost magical. The bright sunlight dimmed considerably as it filtered through the boughs of innumerable huge redwoods and other big trees.  The ground was covered by dense undergrowth, muting our steps, and everywhere the rich scent of green filled our noses with the perfume of rainforest. It was amazing!

The trail kept on going, and before too long we began to wonder just how far it might be. I mean, we were on a cape, so I figured we could only get so far in any direction before we got our feet wet, y’know? But after 20 minutes, there was still nothing but forest around us. I was about ready to turn back.

Finally, up ahead on the left, there seemed to be a much brighter area on the trail. That meant a clearing of some kind, so we decided to see if there were anything to see before turning back. It was like coming up to a corner of a building, then turning the corner and having this… incredible vista spread out in front of us!

Alas, that photo up there simply can’t do it justice. I’m guessin’ we were maybe 300 feet above sea level, and the way the sun played with the clouds and the mist thrown up by the wind… well, it was quite a sight! To this day, we’re grateful we had a chance to see it – even if we did have to work for it, y’know?

Keepin’ Your Eye on the Prize

I’ve said it before and it bears repeating: good things come to those who are willing to do what is necessary to achieve them. (Yes, I really said that; see my guest post at Confident Writing) And what’s really wonderful about those good things that – finally – come along is, they’re all the sweeter for the effort you had to put into it!

That’s the great reward for what you had to do. It’s like the goals you’ve focused on all these days, weeks or even years; when you finally hit the finish line, it’s sweeter than a big ol’ bowl of Blue Bell Banana Pudding Ice Cream! (And trust me Bubba; that’s some sweet dish!)

I’ll tell ya; the incredible view we got that day – it’ll always stay with us (and I don’t just mean as a photo, either). No, it was an all-the-more-fantastic and beautiful reward for the effort it took to find it!

So what prize have you got in your sights right now? Have you expended the effort to reach it? How much longer do you think it’ll take to achieve? What advice would YOU give someone in your place? Drop your suggestions in the comment box and let’s share the wealth of experience we represent with each other! Don’t worry; I’ll leave the light on.

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Photo: Windy Day on the Oregon Coast, by Robert Hruzek

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